This photo was taken around 1947 and
shows the garden tomb and its proximity to the Damascus Gate.
The quarry and cemetary are seen in the upper left of the photo while the
garden tomb is in the lower left. At center right is the Damascus
gate and the roads leading to it. Its name is derived because this
was the road to Damascus Jordan. Christ was crucified in this
area just outside the city walls.

This aerial affords us the view of the quarry area that
was cleared from the hill of Golgotha to make stones for the Temple of
Solomon. As a parallel thought, it is interesting to note that the place
from where the temple was hewn also became the place where the temple of
the Lords body was destroyed.

John 2:19-21

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was
this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

A QUESTION ABOUT GOLGOTHA:

Hello,

My name is Russell and I am attempting to draw
a crucifixion scene. I have been doing a little research about Jerusalem when
Christ was crucified and I have a few questions.

I am having a little trouble with imaging the Golgotha
site with respect to the second wall of Jerusalem. Most pictures of
Golgotha that I have seen focus on the skull on the rock face. I would like
to see a picture that shows the rock face and Jerusalem in the background.
Where can I find such a view?

I am no bible scholar by any means. From my research,
I think Christ may have been crucified on top of Golgotha and possible
looking toward Jerusalem. Can you provide any insight on this
issue?

Where is the tomb of Christ with respect of the
Golgotha site?

Any insight on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ANSWER:

The Romans were master conquerors. They dominated
and maintained order by virtue of their heavy hand. Crucifixion is
one of the most painful, prolonged forms of torture and death that
has ever been invented. The Romans would place the crosses directly
on the main roads entering into Jerusalem (and other cities they
conquered throughout their empire) to serve as 'billboards' to all who
entered the gates. The message was clear; obey Roman law or suffer
the consequences! They placed above the heads of the victims
a literal 'sign' stating the crime for which they were being crucified.
In the case of the crucifixion of Jesus they placed the words "King
of the Jews" which meant that he was being punished for declaring
himself a king rather than recognizing Caesar as king. A crime of
treason.

The goal of crucifixion was to make this a visceral example
to the living to keep the law. Therefore victims were not placed
very far away from the road, such as up on a hill. That would remove
the suffering, bleeding, odor, and groaning too far from the public
and would lessen the effectiveness of their message. Keeping the
victims by the road sides also made their job easier as they did not
have to ascend or descend a hill etc. This also permitted jeering onlookers
an upclose opportunity to mock and taunt the helpless victurm (see Matthew
27:42). Many historians believe that a permanent frame work
was built along the road and that the condemned would merely be hoisted
onto the framework after being nailed to the cross beam (hence the term
crucifixion or use of a cross member). In this way dozens or hundreds
of people could be crucified simultaneously, and often mass executions
were carried out. In the case of Jesus, he was crucified between
two thieves. Likely there were others crucified at that same time
but Christ was only between two of them. Thousands of jews were crucified
by the Romans.

The penalty was so common that a special place was designated
for the placing of the corpses of the unclaimed once they were dead in
the Valley of Gehena. There they would burn the corpses and the odors
and smoke rose up 'like the fires from hell'. Thus the word
Gehena in hebrew means hell. This also gave rise to the imagery of
hells fire. People were typically crucified near all the major
gates leading into Jerusalem. Gologtha is near one of these gates
on the North end of Old Jerusalem called Damascus Gate.

A water color by David Roberts of Damascus gate 1841.

As for the hill Golgotha, there are at least two theories
of its whereabouts. The first is the ancient site now adorned by
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a Catholic holy spot dating from
the 3rd century. It lies inside the old city walls very near the
Antonia Fortress where Pilot condemned Christ to death. It is argued
that at the time of Christ this site lay outside the inner city wall and
that is probably true. Today it is definitely inside the existing
walls which were rebuilt by the Turks. The second and more likely
spot for Golgotha is near the temple quarry just outside of the walls of
Jerusalem near the Damascus gate (This gate, or a gate in this location,
existed even at the time of Christ). It is literally
across the street from the hill we call 'Calvary' or Golgotha. I
hold with this second spot for many reasons. First, the "hill" as
we call it is largely cut away because Solomon quarried the stone for the
temple from this place. The Jews used 'Golgotha', meaning 'skull'
in Hebrew, as their place of stoning for hundreds of years.
(Jews did not use crucifixion for capital punishment, they used stoning
as this was prescribed in the Law of Moses). The quarry afforded
them a convenient spot stone those found guilty. There were many
stones and sharp rock fragments from the chiseling of the temple stone
that were convenient there. The name Golgotha actually came from
this
beginning since this was the place that skulls were bashed against
the rocks and often human remains were left there as well hence the name
'place of the skull'. Some believe that the limestone outcropping
that resembles a "skull" did not even exist at the time of Christ.
They believe that these holes or rock cavities are parts of a water cistern
dug after the time of Christ. Others say they are natural limestone
cavities that have actually become more pronounced over time due to digging
and erosion etc. In either case these holes have been exposed since
for thousands of years and no doubt have changed some over time.
I personally feel these unusual impressions in the rock wall probably have
been there since the time of Christ and that this feature enhanced the
significance of the name chosen for that place. The limestone shelf
that sits below Golgotha is soft and there are lots of natural holes and
cavities in the rock.

A close-up showing the skull effect in the rocks on Golgotha.

Another reason I hold with this second location is that
there is a tomb that lies near Golgotha that meets the criteria of the
tomb offered by Joseph of Aramathea for Christ's burial. There is
a garden as mentioned in John 19:41 complete with an ancient water cistern
that is the second largest one ever found in Jerusalem. This spot
today is beautifully preserved by a nondenominational group of 'Brethren'
from England who serve there and offer free tours to visitors. It
is a very special place. If I were to take you to Israel and
could only show you one place in the whole country, this would be that
place. The empty tomb is a symbol of the resurrection which is what
I believe that Christ wants us to focus on rather than his death.

The empty tomb. Note that the head and feet have been hastily
chisled out to
accomodate a taller person other than the person for whom it was orgininally
intended.

It is not the suffering, and death of Christ that is amazing
though it is important and essential to understanding the doctrine
of the Atonement of Christ. But it is in his resurrection that we
find the greatest miracle of all time. Resurrection or the coming
forth from the dead is the whole reason that He suffered and died
for us, so that we could live again with him. Indeed, Christianity
is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the resurrection of our Lord.
If that miracle be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable.
What he as done for us in suffering cannot, nor should not be disregarded,
but the point was He suffered so that we might not suffer.
His glorious resurrection should be the paramount focus of all Christian
living. Once we realize this we should 'put away the cross' and be
spiritually reborn, looking forward steadfastly to the day that we,
too, can come forth from the dead and live again in Him. I have often
asked myself this question; If had Christ been killed by firing squad
would we put little rifles on chains and wear them around our necks and
adorn our churches with guns? Understanding the cross is to realize
that it was the most hideous form of murder that was ever invented,
used, or carried out by men on earth. We condemn those who practiced
it and our hearts ache for our Lord that he was forced to endure such suffering
and pain when completely innocent of sin. We need to understand
the crucifixion and keep it in proper perspective. We worship Christ
who lives and guides us today. We focus on the fact that he
is alive even though he once was dead. Christ is a living and
real person who is preparing shortly to return to earth in glory and in
the flesh.

This is Golgotah as seen from the walls of Jerusalem.
We see the proximity of the hill of Golgotha which was part of the ancient
temple quarry site. The busy nature of this place has not changed
in thousands of years. Today it is an Arab bus station. Hundreds
of passers by go through this place every day, most of them taking no notice
of this sacred place.